The 10-year jail sentence handed to a British couple in Iran is “totally unjustifiable”, Yvette Cooper has said.

Lindsay and Craig Foreman were arrested in January 2025 while travelling through the country on an around-the-world motorcycle journey and detained on charges of espionage. The couple from East Sussex, who are being held in Tehran’s Evin prison, deny the allegations.

“This sentence is completely appalling and totally unjustifiable,” said Cooper, the foreign secretary. “We will pursue this case relentlessly with the Iranian government until we see Craig and Lindsay Foreman safely returned to the UK and reunited with their family.

“In the meantime, their welfare is our priority and we will continue to provide consular assistance to them and their families.”

Lindsay Foreman said she came to the country on a “global initiative to focus on the good”. Speaking to the BBC before the sentencing, she said: “If anything, my desire to find what connects us is even greater.”

Joe Bennett, Lindsay Foreman’s son, told ITV News they had been informed of the sentence last week and his family was “deeply concerned” for the pair’s welfare and the “lack of transparency” in their judicial process.

“My parents have now been sentenced to 10 years following a trial that lasted just three hours and in which they were not allowed to present a defence,” he said.

“They have consistently denied the allegations. We have seen no evidence to support the charge of espionage.”

He added: “We were previously told that once sentencing occurred, further action would follow. We now hope the UK government will act decisively and use every available avenue to secure their release.”

In January, Bennett was joined by Anoosheh Ashoori – a British-Iranian who was imprisoned in the country for five years – and Richard Ratcliffe, who fought a public campaign that involved two hunger strikes to have his wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, freed from Iran, at the steps of No 10 to deliver a 70,000-signature petition calling on the government to do more to free them.

The couple is due to appear before a court in Tehran in the coming days.

Craig Foreman said the infrequent meetings with his wife were what sustained him.“I know her prison is just 70 metres away, and I get to see her once a month,” he said.

“For me and for Lindsay, seeing each other is the only thing that’s keeping us going right now. I love my wife dearly. She’s the love of my life.”